Apparatus foe



(No Model.)

C. Q. GOODWIN. APPARATUS POR APPLYING SHEATHS T0 ELECTRICAL GONDUCTORS.

No. 410,410. Patented Sept. 3, 1889.

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CHARLES Q. GOODVIN, OF MALDEN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO PETER B. VILEY, OF VAKEFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING SHEATHS TO ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 410,410, dated September 3, 1889. Application filed March 30, 1889. Serial No. 305,403. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES Q. GOODWIN, of Malden, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Applying Seamless Sheaths to Electrical Conductors, of which the following is a specitication.

This invention has for its object to provide a simple and effective apparatus for forming a seamless envelope or sheath of lead or other suitable material upon an electrical conductor or wire having an insulating-covering; and it consists in the improvements which I will now proceed to describe.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure l represents a side elevation of an apparatus embodying my improvements. Figi represents a vertical section of the same.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in both figures.

In the drawings, a represents a verticallymovable receptacle or reservoir adapted to contain melted lead. Said reservoir is tted to slide between vertical guides or ways b l), and is provided with any suitable means whereby it may be forcibly raised or moved upwardly on said guides. I have here shown as the upward-propelling means two hydraulic presses, each composed of a cylinder c and a ram or plunger d, fitted in said cylinder, the

cylinders being provided with connections with a source of wat-er supplied under pressure, whereby water may be admitted to and discharged from the lower ends of the cylinders.

e represents a fixed head, which lits in the interior of the reservoir a, the latter being preferably cylindrical. The fit of the head e in the cylinder is like that of a piston in its cylinder, the contact between the head and the reservoir being suficiently close to prevent the escape of the iiuid or semi-fluid contents of the reservoir between its walls and the head, the walls of the reservoir being in sliding contact with the head e. Said head is rigidly secured to the supporting-frame on which the guides I) l) are formed by any suitable means, the means here shown being a cylinder f with flanged ends, the upper one of which is connected to a circular seat b', formed on the said upright, while the lower flange is connected to the head e. In the eenter of the head e is a tubular mold e', which is affixed to the head and has a bore or cavity 62, which is of the diameter of the lead sheath to be applied to the conductor. v

t' represents the wire or conductor to be coated, the same being of the usual kind, and preferably provided witha iibrous woven covering saturated with paraffine or other insulating material. The said conductor is passed upwardly through a tube j, afxcd to the head e by means hereinafter described, and having a stuffing-box lc at its upper end, which closely fits the wire and prevents the passage of lead downwardly around the wire. Said tube is iitted 13o-slide in an orifice on the bottom of the reservoir a, said orifice being provided withl another stuiiingdoox m, which prevents the escape of lead around the tube j through the bottom of the reservoir. The conductor t' passes through the tubular mold e and through a guide o at the top of the supportingframe- The operation of the described apparatus is as follows: Upward motion is imparted to the reservoir by means of the hydraulic devices deseribed, and at the same time an upward movement at a faster rate is imparted to to the conductor by any suitable means, as by wheels or by rolls driven byanysuitable In cans, one of said rolls p being shown in Fig. l. The upward movement of the reservoir causes the lead in the upper portion thereof to exude through the annular space between the conductor /L' and the throat or forming portion of the mold c', thus depositing a seamless sheath of lead upon the conductor t' at this point. The upward movement of the conductor, which, as above stated, is at a more rapid rate than that of the reservoir, carries the said sheath away from the forming portion of the mold as fast as the sheath is formed. It will be seen, therefore, that so long as the supply of lead lasts and the described movements of the reservoir and conductor are continued, the formation of the seamless sheath on the conductor will go on. In this way an electrical conductor of any desired length may be provided with a seamless sheath very rapidly and economically. The metal deposited on the conductor solidifies directly after its passage through the mold or core. I prefer to have the metal within the mold at a temperature somewhat reduced, so that it will not fiow as freely as when it is raised fully to the melting-point, said metal being preferably in a semi-uuid state or plastic condition, so that it is securely fixed at the time of its formation on the conductor. The portion of the conductor within the tube j is protected from the heat of the lead in the reservoir by a coil fr of pipe placed in the tube, adapted to receive water and conduct it along the tube from the lower end to the upper end and from the upper end back to the lower end. The tube j is secured in-any suitable way to the head e, so that the reservoir a moves on said tube, a suitable space or opening being formed between the head e and the upper end of the tube for the passage of lead from the reservoir to the mold e. I prefer to provide the upper end of the tube j with radiating arms j', which constitute the means for connecting the tube with the head e and prevent the stuffing-box k from pressing against the base of the mold e', said. arms j being secured to the head 'e in this instance by bolts e2.

The lead is preferably melted outside the reservoir, and transferred in a fluid or semifluid state to the reservoir; but, if desired, means may be employed for melting the lead in the reservoir or for keeping it in a melted condition therein.

I have shown in Fig. l a force-pump, of which s is the handle or lever, said pump being adapted to supply the requisite waterpressurc in one or both of the cylinders c.

The reservoir a should have an outlet t at its lower portion for the escape of residuum of the charge of lead, said outlet having a suitable plug.

uu represent rolls having indenting-dies on their peripheries arranged to act on opposite sides of the lead sheath or envelope after' the latter emerges from the mold e. Said dies may be formed to imprint any desired letters, figures, or other characters on the sheathfor example, the name or trademark of the manufacturer or other information. If preferred, only one of the rolls u may be provided with the dies or printing-characters, the other having a smooth surface to support the sheath against the pressure exerted on it by said dies.

The mold e is preferably connected detachably to the head e, so that molds of different sizes may be used interchangeably.

, I do not limit myself to lead as the material used with the above-described apparatus, as any other suitable fusible metal or alloy may be used, and, if desired, a non-metallic material or compound-such as wax or resinmay be applied to the wire in the manner and by the apparatus described, as an insulating coating.

I claim- 1. The combination of the movable reservoir, fixed guides therefor, a motor whereby the reservoir may be moved upon said guides, a fixed head having a mold communicating with the interior of the reservoir, a guide for an electrical conductor below said mold, and rigid lateral supports connecting the upper endof said guide with the fixed head, Whereby the upper end of the guide and an electrical conductor therein are kept at the center of said mold, as set forth.

2. The combination of the fixed supportingframe having vertical guides b I), the reservoir a,1"1tted to slide on said guides, means for elevating said reservoir, the fixed head e, fitted in said reservoir and having the mold e', and the tube j, having the guide j within the reservoir, said guide being formed and arranged to keep a conductor passing therethrough at the center of the forming-throat of the mold, as set forth.

3. The combination of the fixed supportingframe having vertical guides b b, the reservoir @,fitted to slide on said guides, a stuffing-box in the bottom of said reservoir, means for elevating said reservoir, the fixed head e, fitted in said reservoir and having the mold e', and the tube j, having the guide j Withinthe reservoir and passing through the stuffing-box in the bottom of the reservoir, said guide being formed and arranged to keep a conductor passing therethrough at the center of the forming-throat of the mold, as set forth.

4. The combination of the movable reservoir, the fixed head having the mold e', the tube j, having the guide j within the reservoir, and means for circulating water in said tube, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 27th day of March, A. D. 1889.

(EI-IAS. Q. GOODWIN.

Vitnesses:

C. F. BROWN, P. B. WILEY.

IOO 

